For venison, I would avoid anything very structured, as venison has almost no fat to balance out the tannin. If the roast is a slow-long fall apart type of roast, you probably have more flexibility, if it's kind of rare, the texture is more like rare tuna than say beef or lamb. The kosher venison is almost for sure farm-raised and far less gamey than you may expect, but I think brambly-juicy wines like a Southern Rhone or a Zin would pair well. I would pair Syrah and Pinot with game and mutton and would choose one over the other based on how lean the meat is. The Coalition would probably be my current Shirah choice for venison because it's not particularly tannic and it has crazy aromatics.If the sausage is spicy, I would avoid the wine and go for some good beer. A dark Belgian or a stout/porter would be my choice.I like all red wine with a hearty soup.

My current wine picks for venison: Four Gates Pinot (Binyo's terroir and Pinot work so well together)Brobdingnagian Besomim (earlier Zin based vintages)Brobdingangian Rogers Creek Syrah (can't remember what the tannins are like but it's super herbal, like bay leaf, Herb de Provence)Brobdingangian Makom (spicy, Southern Rhone medium bodied styled wine)Shirah The Coalition 2010

Thanks for the advice, everybody. I was able to read the first four posts prior to the dinner.

In the event, I followed the 1 1/2 opinions suggesting syrah and chose the 2009 Power to the People. It was fruity with apricot overtones and spicy. I tasted cardamon. Everyone at the table loved it. The meat, as Gabriel explained, was not the least bit gamey and I thought the wine paired well with it.

Bill Coleman wrote:Thanks for the advice, everybody. I was able to read the first four posts prior to the dinner.

In the event, I followed the 1 1/2 opinions suggesting syrah and chose the 2009 Power to the People. It was fruity with apricot overtones and spicy. I tasted cardamon. Everyone at the table loved it. The meat, as Gabriel explained, was not the least bit gamey and I thought the wine paired well with it.

Nice! I'd also have picked my one and only bottle of PttP to pair with venison but as far as I know, venison meat is not available in Israel (info anyone?)

Good call on PTTP. I think it pairs well with a variety of foods since it has some white wine qualities as well (apricot, etc., as noted by Bill). Someone last year asked me for a good pairing for steak salad, and I recommended PTTP as well.

I eat quite a lot of venison in the States, Maryland/Pennsylvania harvested, and like to pair with zinfandal. We typically do long roasts, fall off the bone and braising with lots of caramelized onion/garlic, so zins work very well.